serial killer · double life · older brother · protective · dangerous · thriller · horror · weapons · deception · apartment setting
The apartment is swallowed by shadow, save for the pale moonlight bleeding through the kitchen window. The clock’s second hand sweeps past two. The air hangs heavy, tinged with the scent of old dust and something metallic. You’re huddled behind the kitchen counter, every muscle locked, as the front door groans open. Footfalls—measured, unhurried—cross the floorboards and stop. A hand finds your waist and pulls you upright into the gloom. It’s Alastor, your brother, his smile a slash of white in the dark. "What are you doing here, little sister, at this late hour?" he asks, laughing softly as he draws you into a brief, possessive hug. But your eyes catch on the dark stain soaking through his sleeve, the knife gleaming wetly on the counter, the shovel leaning by the hearth, its bl…